AMBASSADOR'S TRIP, STATEMENT TOUCH A RAW NERVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000460 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KG SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S TRIP, STATEMENT TOUCH A RAW NERVE REF: BISHKEK 343 Classified By: Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: During an April 6 meeting with Ambassador Yovanovitch, a clearly uncomfortable Deputy Foreign Minister Kadyrbek Sarbaev said that Foreign Minister Jekshenkulov had asked him to express concern over the "deep resonance" left by the Ambassador's recent trip to southern Kyrgyzstan. In particular, Sarbaev expressed concern over a meeting held by the Ambassador with ethnic Uzbek representatives in the city of Jalalabad in March. Sarbaev claimed that according to "unconfirmed information," participants in one meeting had harshly criticized the government and that the Ambassador "had perhaps" stated her agreement with this criticism. Sarbaev also took issue with portions of the public statement issued by the Ambassador on the one-year anniversary of last year's "Tulip Revolution." END SUMMARY. CONCERNS OVER "DEEP RESONANCE" OF TRIP TO SOUTH -------------- -- ¶2. (C) On the morning of April 6, the MFA requested an "urgent meeting" with the Ambassador to discuss unspecified "bilateral issues." Upon further digging, the MFA admitted that it wanted to discuss the Ambassador's recent trip to southern Kyrgyzstan. A clearly uncomfortable Deputy Minister Sarbaev opened the meeting with a few routine questions about the upcoming visit of SCA Assistant Secretary Boucher. After a great deal of hemming and hawing, Sarbaev finally got to the point ) Foreign Minister Jekshenkulov was concerned about "the deep resonance" left by the Ambassador's recent trip to the South. ¶3. (C) Sarbaev cited "unconfirmed information" that the Ambassador "had perhaps agreed with or supported" criticism of the Bakiyev government voiced by participants in a roundtable discussion held at the Uzbek Cultural Center in Jalalabad in late March. (COMMENT: The Uzbeks appeared to be afraid to talk frankly until their leader arrived 30 minutes late. At this point, participants began complaining about poor economic conditions in the region and about broken campaign promises by President Bakiyev ) as do virtually all interlocutors in Kyrgyzstan. They also very gingerly discussed inter-ethnic tensions and prejudice against Uzbeks. END COMMENT). Sarbaev said that Islamic extremists and others could "misuse the Ambassador's words" for their own ends, and claimed that the Kyrgyz people "could get the wrong impression" if they believe the Ambassador agrees with such criticism. CORRUPTION? WHAT CORRUPTION? -------------- ¶4. (C) Sarbaev then turned his attention to the Ambassador's March 24 statement on the one-year anniversary of the overthrow of the Akayev government. Wrapping his criticism inside warm praise for certain parts of the statement, Sarbaev said he disagreed with the portion of the statement that read: "Around the country, people have painted a grim picture for me," and citing rising inflation and problems with corruption and organized crime. Sarbaev said he disagreed with this characterization of the current situation. ¶5. (C) The Ambassador pushed back by saying that, "unfortunately, there are many unhappy people today in Kyrgyzstan." Sarbaev agreed, but said this was because of unrealistic expectations in the wake of last year's revolution. Ambassador commented that it is important for diplomats to be able to travel around the country and meet with all types of people in order to understand what is happening in the country. She noted that her message is the same with all groups, and that the MFA has heard the message many times. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador also expressed concern over the fact that a representative of the National Security Service (SNB) BISHKEK 00000460 002 OF 002 had tried to force his way into one of the roundtables with the ethnic Uzbeks, adding that such tactics "remind her of another time." Sarbaev claimed to know nothing about this, saying only "that's a different agency." ¶7. (C) COMMENT: It was hard not to feel sorry for the genial Sarbaev as he relayed Jekshenkulov's criticism, which Sarbaev carefully wrapped in flowery praise and couched so indirectly that at times it was hard to figure out what he was really saying. Sarbaev got stuck with this meeting at the last minute when the Deputy FM who had summoned the Ambassador was called away on urgent business. Despite the hemming and hawing, however, it was clear that the Ambassador's meetings with ethic Uzbeks and then her March 24 statement clearly touched a nerve, most likely not in the MFA but in the Presidential Administration, which simply channeled its displeasure through the MFA. Although interethnic relations have always been a touchy subject, particularly in the south, what really may have set off the Presidential Administration was the presence of ethnic Uzbek parliamentarian Kadyrjan Batyrov, a Bakiyev opponent, who helped to facilitate the meetings and plays a prominent role among his district's Uzbek community. There is also the possibility that the Kyrgyz government overreacted to the roundtables due to hypersensitivity to all things Uzbek in the run-up to the one-year anniversary of the Andijon massacre, as well as the severely strained state of Kyrgyz-Uzbek relations. ¶8. (C) Sarbaev's concerns over the March 24 statement left the impression that the Kyrgyz government had gone over the statement with a fine-toothed comb, dissecting the inner meaning of each word and phrase. Clearly, our criticism of rising crime and corruption are having at least some effect. But not everyone was offended by the statement. Following the meeting, Director of the Western Countries Division Kanat Tursukulov (who also attended the meeting) told the Ambassador that he had read the statement for the first time just before today's meeting, and that he "agreed with every word." ¶9. (C) We note that this is the second time the MFA has criticized the Ambassador since February for meeting with parliamentarians and other non-government officials (reftel). YOVANOVITCH